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Updated: Feb 3, 2026

Residue-Free Fabrication of van der Waals Heterostructures of Two-Dimensional Materials
Published on: July 18, 2025
Stable Silicene in Graphene/Silicene Van der Waals Heterostructures
Geng Li1,2, Lizhi Zhang1, Wenyan Xu1
1Institute of Physics and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and CAS Center for Excellence in Topological Quantum Computation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
Abstract:
Silicene-based van der Waals heterostructures are theoretically predicted to have interesting physical properties, but their experimental fabrication has remained a challenge because of the easy oxidation of silicene in air. Here, the fabrication of graphene/silicene van der Waals heterostructures by silicon intercalation is reported. Density functional theory calculations show weak interactions between graphene and silicene layers, confirming the formation of van der Waals heterostructures. The heterostructures show no observable damage after air exposure for extended periods, indicating good air stability. The I-V characteristics of the vertical graphene/silicene/Ru heterostructures show rectification behavior.
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